collier



- (a. B. COLLIER. ROTARY TOOTH BRUSH. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5. I917.

Patented 0ct.14,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

G. B. COLLIER ROTARY TOOTH BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5.1917.

1 3 1 8, 64:7 Patented Oct; 14, 1 919.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[mom/roe 42 m Fzys I277 4 1 aim STATES PATENT oFnIoE.

. GUY B. COLLIER, OF KIN DERHOOK, NEW YORK.

ROTARY woom-mwsir.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, GUY B. Connmn. a'citizen of the United States,residing at Kinderhook, in the county of Columbia and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary. Tooth-'Brushes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,-clear, andexact descrip- Specification of Letters Patent.

tion of the invention, such as will. enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

7 this character employed for cleaning teeth.

The present invention relates to rotary brushes and more particularly tobrushes of In tooth brushes of this character as'commonlyv constructedthe operating'mechanism is embodied directly in the brush, making itcumbersome and'diflicult to operate. In addition, with those brushes inwhich the rotation is securedby a manual operation of the mechanism, itis extremely difficult, if not impossible, to at the same time rotateand guide .the brush. I

One object of the present invention is to providea rotary toothbrush ofan improved form which'is compact in construction and may be handledwith the utmost facility.

. away; Fig. 2 is" a longitudinal section in A further object of theinvention is to so improve the operating mechanism for the brush thatthe direction of rotation of the latter may be conveniently controlledby the operator and immediately reversed when .desired. w

With these objects in view the several fea tures' of the inventionconsists in certain novel features of construction, combinations andarrangements of parts hereinafter described'and claimed, the advantagesof which will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the followingdescription. j

In the drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention, Figure1 represents aview of the improved brush and operating mechanismattachedto the usual faucet with the driving shaft for the brush brokenelevation of the water motor for operating the brush attached to thefaucet; Fig. 3 1s a view similar to Fig. 2 but taken at right angles;Fig.4 is a detail illustrating a longitudinal section of the rotarybrush with the reversing'mechanism' embodied therein; Fig.

5 is a," detail illustrating a view of one portionpf the'detaeha e c nnetion ior the view of the complemental portion of the Patented oet.14,1919. Application filed September 5, 1917. Serial No. 189,795. I

detachable connection; Fig. 7 is an end View of theconnection shown inFig. 6; Fig. 8 is a detail illustrating a modified form of connectionfor attaching the water motor to the faucet; and Fig. 9. is a plan view,partly in section, of the connection shown in Fig. 8. i Thepresent'invention contemplates the combination with a rotary tooth brushof means attached to a faucet for operating the brush, and a flexibledriving connection between the operating means and the brush.-

In the simplest and most efiicient form of the invention which has yetbeen devised a water motor is detachably connected to the open end of afaucet and operates a flexible shaft'of the desired length, which isconnectedat its opposite end with the rotary brushr In order to "permitthe direction of rotation of the brush'to be convenientlychangedwhendesired, reversing mechanism lsembodied 1n the brush, and is controlledby a finger lever so arranged as to permit the instant manipulation ofthe reversing mechanism. The provision of this mechanism is ofconsiderable importance as it permits an immediate change in thedirection of rotation of the brush as the position of the latter isshifted to cause the portion of the brush in contact with the'teeth tomove away from the gums. For example, if the brush is held in contactwith the upper row of teeth it will. be rotated to cause the surfaces ofthe brush to contact with the teeth to move downwardly,'whereas if thebrush is in con tact with the lower row of teeth the rotawardly. In alike manner, the direction of tion will be in a direction to cause thecontacting surfaces of the brush to move uprotation of the brushmay beconveniently reversed when cleaning teeth on opposite sides .ofthemouth. Thus, by manipulating the brush so that the direction ofrotation is always in a direction awayfrom the gums and toward the 'endof the teeth, the removal of particles from between the teeth is insuredwithout cutting or bruising the s.

.In the illustrated embodiment of the in vention the water motorisprovided with a casing 10 having an intake lladapted to be connectedwith the end of a .water faucet 12.

.As shown c ear g 1 and 2 he intake.

drawings. this faucet is of the usual form having a curved depending end14 and a valve handle 15. The intake 11 of the motor is adapted toreceive the lower end 16 of a connecting tube 17 which is secured to thefaucet through a flexible connection 18 of rubber or other suitablematerial. The connection 18 is provided with an annular head 19 whichreceives a flange 20 formed upon the upper end of the sleeve and isclamped to the sleeve by a metal band 22 having lugs 23 which are drawntogether in the usual manner by a clamping bolt 24. The rubberconnection is conveniently clamped to the faucet through similarclamping bands. 25

and 26 which surround the rubber tubing and clamp the latter to thefaucet, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3. The lower end 16 of theconnecting tube forms a convenient means for properly positioning themotor with relation to, the faucet and at the same time affords asubstantially leak-proof joint for conveying water from the faucet tothe interior of the motor casing. In order to provide a detachableconnection for securing the casing 10 in operative position as shown inFig. 2, a latch 30 is fulcruined at 31 upon the side of the motor casingand is provided with an upper end 32 adapted to project over the topsofthe lugs 23 and lock the casing in position with the end 16 of thetube inserted within the intake 11 of the casing. With this constructionthe motor may be instantly attached to or detached from the faucet,leaving the connecting sleeve in place, which does not interfere in anymanner with the flow of water from the faucet.

The motor casing contains a water wheel 35 supported upon a shaft 36journaled in bearings 37 formed in opposite sides of the casing andhaving blades 38 extending therefrom into the path of the water. Asshown clearly in Fig. 2', the water is discharged from the intake 11.downwardly through a discharge passage 40 formed beneath the Thisconstruction forms an exceedingly simple and compact mechanism forutilizing the water which flows from the faucet to rotate the shaft 36,the construction of the motor enabling the discharge of water to takeplace directly beneath the open end of the faucet. The motor shaft 36 isconnected to a flexible drive shaft 42 through a coupling comprising adisk 43 secured to th flexible shaft in any suitable manner and having apair of pins 44, which are received in corresponding recesses 45 formedin a 'complemental driving member 46 secured to the motor shaft 36, asshown clearly in Figs. 5 to 7, inclusive. With this construction thedriving shaft may be disconnected from the water motor whenever desired.The opposite end of the flexible drive shaft 42 is connected with ashaft50 journalcd within a casing 51 forming a part of the brush handle. Thisconnection is made in any usual manner, as indicated clearly in Figs. 1and 1. The drive shaft is incloscd in a flexible tube 47, which isprovided with a bushing -18 in which the end of the drive shaft 12 isjournaled in "the usual manner.

The handle of the brush is formed by a tube 5.) which is secured to thecasing 51 and incloscs a shaft, 56. The casing 51 is provided with acover plate 57 threaded thereto and having a boss 58 forthe reception ofthe tubular handle and also forming a bearing for the inner end of theshaft 56, the outer end of which is supported by a bearing block 59secured in the end of the tube 55. The brush shaft 56 is rotated ineither direction through a pair of oppositely disposed bevel pinions 60and 61 secured to the shaft 50 and adapted to engage with a bevel gear62 secured to the inner end of the. Shaft 56 within the casing 51. Thereversal of rotation of the shaft 56 is accomplished by causing eitherone of the bevel drive pinions 60 or 61 to mesh with the bevel gear 62.'To this end a sleeve 63 is mounted upon the shaft 50 between the twopinions and is provided with a lug 65 pivotally connected to the outerend of a shift arm 61. The arm 6% is secured to a shaft 66 having afinger lever 67 secured thereto outside of the casing 51. The fingerlever, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 1 of the drawings, is sup portedbeneath the tubular handle 55 and the operating end 68 is convenientlylocated so that a slight lateral pressure will swing the leversufficiently to shift the. driving pinions. This construction permitsthe brush to be supported and operated with the same hand, the thumb orone of the fingers being utilized to shift the lever 67 when desired.

In order to permit the convenient substitution of one brush for anotheran elongated hub 7 0 is adapted to be forced on to the tapered end 71 ofthe shaft 56. The hub is provided with the usual sets of bristles 72which may be of the proper shape and stiffness desired. The lips andinterior of the mouth are protected during the insertion and use of thebrush within the month by a guard member 7 3 secured to the tubularhandle 55 and extending lengthwise of the brush to a point slightlybeyond the end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. This guard protects the backside. of the brush and prevents the rotating bristles from contactingwith the mouth.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the presentconstruction may be manipulated to clean the teeth with less exertionthan the ordinary brush and at the same time the rotation of the brushis under th instant control of the operat r o that the bristles shallalways move in a direction best adapted to clean the particular teethwith which the brush contacts.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9 a modifiedconnection is em ployed for attaching the water motorto the faucet,which permits the convenient detachinent of the connecting tube from thefaucet. In this. construction a rubber connecting tube 75 is attached atits lower end to a water intake 76 having a flange 77 and formed uponthe upper end of the motor casing. A clamping band 78 grips the lowerend of the tube to the intake 76. The upper end of the tube is adaptedto surround the lower end of the faucet 12 and is provided with aclamping band 79 connected to the clamping band 78 by an upright arm 80to preserve the position of the two bands relative to the tube. The band79 is provided with lugs 81 which may be conveniently drawn together bya clamping screw 82 having a'winged head 83. \Vith this construction thewater motor 10 is conveniently attached to the lower end of the faucetby inserting the upper end of the tube 75 over the faucet and tighteningthe clamp screw 82. Ina like manner the motor is detached from thefaucet by loosening the clamp screw. \Vhile it is preferred to employthe specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described,it will be understood that this construction and arrangement is notessential except so far as specified in the claims, and may be changedor modified without departing from the broader features of theinvention.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A rotary brush, having in combination a brush head, a tubular handlesupporting the head, a shaft connected to the head,

means supported by the handle for rotating ing mechanism located withinthe casing and adapted to drive the shaft, and a control lever forthe-reversing mechanism supported in proximity tothe handle.

3. A rotary brush comprising a tubular handle, a shaft journaled withinthe handle,

a brush head detachably connected with the shaft, a casing secured tothe handle, reversing mechanism located within the casing and adapted torotate the shaft, and an oscillatory lever for controlling the reversingmechanism which extends substantially lengthwise of the handle in aposition conveniently accessible to the operator.

, 4. A rotary brush comprising a tube, a shaft journaled within thetube,a casing se cured to the tube, a gear secured to the shaft withinthe casing, a second haft journaled within the casing, a pair "of gearssecured to the second shaft, an oscillatory lever supported outside ofthe casing, and connections between the. oscillatory lever and secondshaft for liding the shaft axially within the casing to cause either ofthe gears to' mesh with the gear upon the first mentioned shaft.

5. A rotary brush comprising a handle, a brush head supported by thehandle, a water motor, driving connections between the water motor andbrush head, a tube adapted to be attached to a faucet, a connectingsleeve secured to the tube, and a latch pivoted upon the motor andadapted to connect the motor to the tube.

- GUY B. COLLIER.

